The bristling new album by John Keenan, “Wreckage of the Past,” serves as a taut 18-track declaration of artistic independence. A self-produced affair from start to finish, the album melds hip-hop and funk bass lines with jazz chords and orchestral touches into a beguiling whole. No frills, no ghostwriters, and definitely no shortcuts: Keenan is his own genuine voice on every beat, arrangement, and mix.
Toward the end of the album, Keenan holds a tenuous balance between political provocation and emotional vulnerability, and his songs ultimately feel as if they resonate in both the head and the heart. Highlights like “Afraid to Try” hum with tenderness that undercuts braggadocio; “No Stress at All” bounces along a laid-back groove, showcasing his confident workmanship in full. And as he wrote, produced, mixed, and ultimately finalized each cut by himself, “Wreckage of the Past” reads like one cohesive story rather than an album that plays like several singles.
Keenan’s writing is driven by musical discovery and personal experience. He’s a Phoenix native who has built a reputation over the course of five albums for uniting golden-era hip-hop inclinations with funk, jazz, and even classical in ways that are hard to pin down. His independence as an artist is not a novelty; it’s a discipline that gives us songs that can be every bit as challenging and accessible, politically volatile, and emotionally humane.
With its unapologetic documentation of the arts, John Keenan gives us a debris field that rewards closer listening.
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